Driving down the interstate today, my car started to go crazy with the revs, I pulled off, ended up getting some help. After some discussion with my dad we think it may be water in the fuel tank, adding some fuel stabilizer (one that claims to get rid of water in the fuel tank. I had maybe 5 gal gas in the tank) hasn't done much of anything. I also added another 5 gal after the fuel stabilizer had some time to work. Unable to drive the car home, it's been towed and is sitting in the drive. As it sits, it does start, but it misfires horribly, and all/most of the dash lights go crazy.

I suppose my next step is to drain the tank and put on a new fuel filter. Sound like a good start? What would be the best way to drain the tank?

 

Can't imagine why water in the fuel would cause the dash lamps to go crazy. Sounds more like an electrical issue that's affecting both the dash lamps and either the fuel injection, engine management or ignition....

 

One or more of your ignition coils has gone Tango Uniform.

Sometimes determining which one is easy. Remove the coil cover and run the engine in a dark garage. Whichever coil has visible sparking thru the opaque epoxy is your culprit. Of course, the symptoms (roughness, crazy gauges, Tokyo-at-night warning lamps) have to be occuring at the time.

Lack of visible sparking/arcing does not prove a coil is good, however.

Cheers
DD

 

This one is to easy for Doug, need a harder problem to diagnose to really test his jag man skills. Doug is right check your coils.......

 

Here's where I am with regards to the situation (I've been sick for the past few days and have just now had a chance to look at the problem):

I replaced the fuel filter since I had a new one and the system had had time to depressurize. I didn't see any water in the little bit of fuel that leaked when I removed the old filter. I started up the car, and it idled fine a bit, died, started it again, revved it a bit, idled great for a minute or so, died, and now we're back to the crazy revs, misfiring, all the dash lights wonky, and dead again.

With regards to Tango Uniform, I haven't looked at the coils yet, but my thoughts still hold that it could be a fuel issue since it ran fine for a bit with the new filter.

Plan B: Drain the fuel tank (siphon the gas? any recommendations on how to best go about draining the tank?), put in another new fuel filter (I assume the new one has been ruined with the tainted fuel, whether it's bad fuel or it's got water in it), and see what happens. If it all goes pear shaped again, I'll have a look at the coils. I'm on a time crunch. I need to go back to school on the 4th (120 mile drive). Also, anyone know how long it takes for the fuel system to depressurize? I am not a patient person, and I want to get this taken care of ASAP.

Thanks.

 

Why not take the quick, easy route and check the coils first since that's what the more experienced member above seems to think is the problem? Checking the coils will take you all of a couple of minutes....and that's a heck of a lot quicker and easier than draining the fuel tanks, etc.....

 

You're right. My thinking behind taking care of the gas first is that the gas problem could have led to the Tango Uni. My thoughts are that if I take care of the gas problem that may be causing the TU, the TU will go away. I worry that it may be bad gas or water in the fuel because I was over zealously washing my car and was a bit heavy with the hose around the gas cap. I don't think it could be an issue with the ignition coils because I just replaced them, although I really don't know much about ignition coils.

 

Water in the gas or bad gas isn't going to cause a coil to go bad....and there would have to be a LOT of water in the gas to cause the running issues you're having.

Unless your gas cap was off (or at least very loose) you aren't going to get water in the tank washing the car. If that were the case, these things wouldn't run during a hard rain....

Just because the coils are new, it doesn't mean they're good. New parts can fail - or even be defective right out of the box.

Did you replace the coils because they were defective, or just because you thought it might be a good idea? If they were still functioning OK - and you still have the old parts - you could reinstall them and see if the problem goes away....

 

I siphoned as much gas out as I could, then I drained the rest of the tank by attaching a hose to one of the fuel lines, turned the fuel pump on with the key to have it pump out the rest. There was a fair amount of water in the fuel. I replaced the fuel filter again too.

The car idled fine in park for a few minutes, died, and the process repeated 3 or so times, and then seemed to idle fine. When I put the car in drive it started to die, died and closed the windows (which I had opened). I was hardly able to drive it a quarter mile, down the street and back. The car stalled in the drive and was pushed in the last 20 feet. It had started to die on my way home and I had a feeling it wouldn't make it.

The electrics do go a bit crazy, but the engine doesn't rev high on its own anymore. The car seemed to run fine until the engine was heated up. Now that it's warm it won't hold an idle and pretty much dies upon start up.

My next move is to check the coils for Tango Uniform when the car's cool and it's dark, and in the morning, I guess I'll check the fuel filter again for water. What is the best way to make sure I've got the tank empty of all water?

 

The only method I can see to literally drain ALL the fuel is to actually remove the tank. And removing the tank isn't a ten minute thing. But you'd get rid of that last couple gallons that the pump can't such out.

Or........

One idea might be to add 2-3 gallons of fresh fuel and use the pump to remove as much as possible.....and then repeat this drill one or two more times. By then I'd have to think that virtually all the water will be gone. Then fill the tank with 20 gallons of fresh fuel.

Since you're on a tight timetable I hope that you've already ordered at least one or two new coils because I really think you're gonna need 'em. The misfire together with the dashboard displays going crazy are *the* classic symptom of coil failure. It has come up on this and other forums quite a few times.

Cheers
DD

 

Check the coils now.

Not carved in granite but they are more likely to fail....and thus you're more more likely to identify a failure....when they are warm or hot.


Cheers
DD

 

I did check the coils, and they show no sparking. I ran the car through 4 cycles (turn it on, idle a minute, and die).

My next move is to check the fuel filter again in the morning. Is the fuel pump on the passenger or driver's side of the car? I'd like to know if I should raise a side higher than the other to help pump out fuel (assuming I find water in the filter). Are there any good fuel additives I can buy to get the water out of the tank? I could drain the tank as much as possible, add the additive, and try to pump out more.

If need be, I have an old fuel pump I could hook up from an outside source and use that to pump gas from a clean source to the engine to rule out everything else before I pull the tank.

 

Go back to post #3. Lack of sparking does not prove that a coil is good.

When the car is running badly unplug one coil at a time and note any change in engine behavior. If you come across one where no change is evident, that's a bad coil.








Not sure about fuel pump location. I think it's about in the middle (??).

I know there are some over the counter products for water-in-fuel problems. "Heet" is one name that rings a bell. You can Google it and see what they have to say. Not sure how/if they really work. Not sure how any of them could make the water just disappear.

Cheers
DD

 

After reading an old post, I think it could be the crank sensor (post: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...le-dies-84081/)

Again, I"ll still check the fuel filter for water, and the coils in the morning by disconnecting one at a time.

Edit: Tomorrow morning, I'm going to a marine store and getting a fuel additive and seeing where that takes me first. Apparently marine stores are a better place to buy such a product.

 

Fuel additives usually mean stabilizers for long term storage. Dissolving water so it will mix with petrol requires alcohol. There used to be a product called Dry Gas, which was alcohol. If you have a lot of water, removing the tank may be the best answer, as you should probably check for rust and maybe replace it.

 

Fixed! Doug, I will never doubt you again. The ignition coil for cylinder 5 had gone Tango. HOWEVER, there was a fair amount of water in the fuel, after adding another water out product and changing the filter again, I have chosen to believe that is no longer an issue. I also discovered loads of oil in all of the cylinders, and I cleaned the plugs and coils.